Funding for Manitoba Association of Native Firefighers cut by federal government

WINNIPEG – The federal government is cutting funding and its ties to the Manitoba Association of Native Firefighters.

Aboriginal and Northern Development Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt said in a statement they are in default of their agreement and funds will be withdrawn. The agreement will not be renewed, according to the organization.

After a flooding incident in 2011, the association received millions for cleanup and evacuees, who were taken to the Red Cross earlier in the year. A 2013 government ordered audit found the money was being misused. According to CJOB, $90 million in funding disappeared without financial records or bank statements.

The amount of federal funding the association was given is still unknown.

With files from CJOB